Economic Impacts of Improved Connectivity for ASEAN: An Application of the Geographical Simulation Model

We compare the prioritized projects of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) and the Comprehensive Asia Development Plan (CADP) by utilizing the Institute of Developing Economies/Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia Geographical Simulation Model. The prioritized projects of the MPAC mainly focus on specific hard or soft infrastructure projects connecting one remote area of an ASEAN member state to another and thus fail to capture the full potential of the infrastructure because of neglected important links within a state. On the other hand, the CADP emphasizes the importance of economic corridors or linkages between a large cluster and another cluster. Our simulation analysis shows that CADP projects will result in an addition to gross domestic product (GDP) of $US 1544bn over the period from 2021 to 2030 (in 2010 dollars) or an impact on ASEAN countries that is 12 times larger than MPAC projects. The results strongly suggest that the CADP projects should be adopted and implemented to fully realize the potential economic growth of the ASEAN countries. Moreover, the CADP will contribute more to narrowing the development gaps among the ASEAN countries than MPAC prioritized projects.     

生态消费模式合作案例研究——以樱慈有机生活体验馆为例

生态消费模式是人们为满足消费需求并实现生态平衡过程所做的一种新型探索。生态消费模式中的合作案例较多,具体可以体现为:倡导节约性消费理念、选择简捷性消费方式、明确安全化消费目标、完善和谐化消费制度等。樱慈有机生活体验馆正是以新媒体传播方式、新交流合作平台、新代际立体反馈、新消费链条构建的真实案例展现。     

Don't ignore the floor: Exploring multisensory atmospheric congruence between music and flooring in a retail environment

In retail environments, consumers commonly evaluate products while standing on some type of flooring and concurrently being exposed to music; however, no study has examined the interaction of these two atmospheric cues. To bridge this gap, this research examines whether retailers can benefit from creating multisensory atmospheric congruent rather than incongruent retail environments of flooring and music. The results of an experiment in a real retail store reveal positive effects of multisensory congruent retail environments (e.g., soft music combined with soft flooring) on product evaluations. This study provides a new process explanation with consumers’ purchase‐related self‐confidence mediating these effects. Specifically, consumers in congruent rather than incongruent retail environments experience more purchase‐related self‐confidence, which in turn leads to more favorable product evaluations. Furthermore, this study shows that consumers with a low rather than a high preference for haptic information are influenced more by multisensory atmospheric congruence when evaluating a product haptically.     

软资源视角下城镇化动力与潜力

城市是在自然和文化力量相互作用组成的环境中产生和发展起来的,每个城市系统都存在于一个受文化和历史约束的世界中,并拥有一系列已形成的传统和价值。从城市史来看,人类智慧和文化所凝聚而形成的软资源分布、演化与城市及其市民社会的发展之间存在着耦合关系和共生规律。后工业化时代的城镇化越来越依赖于新兴产业和未来产业的发展,了解和掌握软资源的形成、积累和价值规律,利用软资源的特性来开发新兴产业,不仅有利于促进经济发展和就业增长,也有利于在新的产业上规划城镇化,提升城市的品质和内涵。     

Contrasting Developments in UK Energy Regulation: Retail Policy and Consumer Engagement

This article explores the role of regulation as a supporting institution for an energy market. Two aspects are examined: first, the role of regulation in promoting a competitive market for the retail supply of energy, and second, the role of regulation in providing access to the transmission and distribution networks, assumed to be monopolies, that provide services for the retail suppliers. UK regulation promoted retail energy competition until 2008, but in that year changed direction, and since then has been restricting retail competition. In contrast, UK regulation since 2008 has encouraged more customer engagement in the network part of the energy sector. This offers the prospect, at least, of the emergence of a form of competition and choice in the process of setting price controls.     

新常态下文化产业的发展路径探析

随着中国经济进入新常态，中国政治生活、社会建设和文化发展生活进入新阶段，文化产业如何适应新的发展趋势，实现新常态下的二次创业，发展的路径选择就成为亟待解决的迫切课题。论文借势消费引领战略、创新驱动战略、产业融合战略、文化金融战略、文化科技战略和国际文化贸易发展战略，提出文化产业要顺应消费的新方向、融合互联网和金融创新催生的新业态、汇聚创客群体、利用大数据新手段和国际贸易新通道，从而实现文化产业在新常态下的新发展。     

Is Africa integrating? Evidence from product markets

This paper presents a price-based assessment of product market integration in Africa using disaggregated retail prices for 91 products and 12 African cities from 1991 to 2008. We find evidence of substantial deviations from the law of one price ? product price differences between the cities averaged 76% over the period – a result that is consistent with the presence of large barriers to trade in the continent. Mean price differences across cities fell by close to a quarter over the period, but the decline was concentrated in the early 1990s with little progress subsequently, despite the regional trade policies implemented by the countries. Gravity-style estimates reveal that reductions in external tariffs and global trends towards price convergence in the early 1990s are the key contributors to the trend in price integration amongst the African cities.     

What drives customer loyalty in grocery retail? Exploring shoppers' perceptions through associative networks

Mental associations play a key role in shaping customer-brand relationships and are critical to the development of favourable attitudes and emotional attachment towards a brand. By exploring shoppers’ knowledge structures, this study identifies what drivers of customer loyalty are more relevant to customers in the context of grocery retail. A mix-method study on shoppers’ perceptions and values associated to their most patronised grocery store is presented. Through focus group discussions, concept maps and associative network analysis, three types of associations are identified: functional, relational and premium store associations. Salience and relationships among these dimensions are also discussed.     

Factors affecting donations in U.S. retail stores: A conceptual framework

The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that influence consumer donations in U.S. retail stores. The study provides a conceptual framework of factors derived from the cause-related marketing, consumer behavior and psychology literatures. These factors are categorized as consumer-related factors, retailer-related factors and context-related factors. Consumer-related factors include consumer-retailer identification, consumer-cause affinity, impure altruism, civic engagement and post-purchase cognitive dissonance. Retailer-related factors consist of retailer-cause fit, retailer's commitment to the cause, retailer image as being altruistic, and retailer credibility. Context-related factors include time pressure, social pressure, shopping amount, and perceived savings during the shopping trip. This conceptual framework serves as a foundation for future empirical studies.     

中国新型城镇化必须提升人的城镇能力

中国新型城镇化必须以人为核心,使城乡社会经济的发展与人的发展相适应。文章从人力资本理论的研究视角出发,着重分析中国新型城镇化中人的因素,创造性地提出了"人的城镇能力"这一概念,围绕农业转移人口的市民化,得出了重视人力资本投资,以推进中国新型城镇化的重要结论。